1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door opening and closing apparatus for an aircraft, in which a door for opening and closing an opening portion of a fuselage is pivotally supported at a lower end thereof on the fuselage, and is driven to open and close by a door opening and closing mechanism that is operated by a crew member from inside of the fuselage.
2. Description of Background Art
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-110746, an apparatus is known wherein a lower end of a door is pivotally supported on a lower end of an opening portion formed in a side surface of a fuselage of a business aircraft. A door opening/closing operation lever is provided inside the fuselage wherein a crew member operates the door opening/closing operation lever so that the door connected to the door opening/closing operation lever is manually swung from an opened position to a closed position thereof.
The above-described conventional apparatus has the following problem. The door opening/closing operation lever has a base end pivotally supported on the inner surface of the fuselage with a fulcrum pin and a tip end extending toward the inside of the fuselage. When the door is located in the opened position, the door opening/closing operation lever extends downward along the inner surface of the fuselage from the fulcrum pin. On the other hand, when the door is located in the closed position, the door opening/closing operation lever extends upward along the inner surface of the fuselage from the fulcrum pin. Accordingly, in order to close the door from the opened position to the closed position, a crew member needs to perform an operation of pulling upward the door opening/closing operation lever while holding the tip end of the lever. Since the diameter of the fuselage of a business aircraft is relatively small, the crew member is required to perform the operation of pulling upward the door opening/closing operation lever in a semi-crouching posture. This operation requires a large force, which increases the load on the operation by the crew member.